When We Connect: 2026 Peace and Unification Cultural Event for Overseas Koreans held in Canada

• Peace and Unification Cultural Event for Overseas Koreans held successfully in conjunction with the 24th Korean Cultural Heritage Festival in Vancouver, Canada, on July 18
• Line Tracer, DMZ VR/AR exhibit, and AI Unification Art Challenge draw visitor interest around the theme of connection

SEOUL, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Ministry of Unification held the 2026 Peace and Unification Cultural Event for Overseas Koreans under the theme "When We Connect" on Saturday, July 18, at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, Canada.

Held in conjunction with the 24th Vancouver Korean Cultural Heritage Festival, the event conveyed the message that once the Korean Peninsula reconnects, peaceful coexistence could open boundless possibilities. It drew the interest of overseas Koreans and local citizens who visited the booth.

The event focused on the explosive potential that can only emerge once broken ties are restored, and was designed so visitors could experience "connection" for themselves.

In the Line Tracer experience, visitors connected a Eurasian railway route by hand and watched a model train run it, coming away with a felt sense of the economic and environmental benefits that a peace-connected railway across the Korean Peninsula could bring, along with anticipation for a future connected by peace.

Visitors also responded positively to other programs that let them experience the boundless possibilities of connection: the DMZ exhibit, where VR and AR postcards introduced the DMZ's preserved natural environment; the AI Unification Art Challenge, where visitors viewed and voted on AI-generated visions of a unified Korea created by overseas Koreans; and the K-Tea pairing, where visitors sampled a variety of teas alongside Kaesong yakgwa.

In particular, a talk concert titled "Drawing Korea's Blue Ocean" brought overseas Koreans together in a shared moment. Kim Min-kyung (Michelle Kim), CEO of The Way Company, who runs a Canada-based global accelerating program for Korean startups, introduced the economic opportunities that peace on the Korean Peninsula could bring and the role young overseas Koreans could play in them.

Visitors to the event shared their impressions. One overseas Korean raising elementary school-age children said the event brought back stories about the two Koreas that she had completely forgotten while living in Canada, adding that she rarely had the occasion to talk with her second-generation children about peace and unification on the Korean Peninsula, and that this event gave her a meaningful opportunity to do so.

Another overseas Korean, who moved to Canada as a child and has lived there for 30 years, said it was fascinating and exciting to imagine traveling from Canada to Korea by ferry and the Eurasian railway.

The Ministry of Unification plans to continue hosting experience-based cultural events built around the shared message of connection and peace, to help overseas Koreans naturally understand and engage with the issue of peace and unification on the Korean Peninsula.

Attachment: Event photos